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Cutting off the mufflers on a GS850

  • Thread starter Thread starter Acooljt
  • Start date Start date
A

Acooljt

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Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, my name is Aaron, I just bought a 1979 Suzuki GS850, my first bike! It runs great, yada yada, you've heard that.

Anyway, I'm a Harley kind of guy(is that a taboo word on this board?). Well, I can't stand that weed-wacker sound from those mufflers. I was wondering if these bikes sound any good with the mufflers hacked off?

Oh yeah, and just out of curiosity, how do you tell the difference between a GS850G and a GS850GL?
 
L model looks more harley stylish. dont just cut off the mufflers, the bike will run so lean and you will loose alot of power and it will run like crap and be rediculously loud. because thats what i did:) but then i made slash cut tips with reducers inside so it wasnt really loud and its still ran good. i would reccomendt buying an exhaust such as a mac 4-2 turnout. my friends has one on his cb550 and it sounds great. also, dont forget, you have a 4 cylinder bike, it will never sound like a v-twin. it will sound alot smoother, because thats how they run :)
 
Hey Aaron, I'm new to the forum as well and also am new to the GS realm after being on board Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki's (all vintage). However, I have been doing some rather extensive research on my "new" GS850. I have to "L" version, which is the cruiser version (lower seat w/stepped up passenger seat and a rather large 5+ gallon fuel tank). The "S" version having a smaller capacity tank and a flat/higher "bench" seat.
 
Acooljt said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, my name is Aaron, I just bought a 1979 Suzuki GS850, my first bike! It runs great, yada yada, you've heard that.

Anyway, I'm a Harley kind of guy(is that a taboo word on this board?). Well, I can't stand that weed-wacker sound from those mufflers. I was wondering if these bikes sound any good with the mufflers hacked off?

Oh yeah, and just out of curiosity, how do you tell the difference between a GS850G and a GS850GL?
Click to expand...

Please wait a little bit before your cut up your stock mufflers for a couple of reasons.

1) If you change the mufflers you will probably have to do some carb work.

2) Those stock mufflers are valuable to someone and you might be able to get a few bucks for them and use the money for a different exhaust.

Please don't just start cutting them up on a whim. You don't know what you have yet! Take them off, save them for a rainy day or when you change your mind. Those bikes run just wonderfully with the stock airbox and mufflers. I've got a new exhaust on mine because my old ones were trash, but I would much rather have the stock exhaust.

If you're a Harley guy, you don't know what you have yet. The 850's are about perfect in stock form!
 
Yeah, I saw the MAC 4 into 2 kit and it looks nice but I was curious about how it sounded. This bike isn't worth a whole lot of money so I don't wanna pour a whole lot of money in it but I would like it to sound good.
 
redtires said:
Hey Aaron, I'm new to the forum as well and also am new to the GS realm after being on board Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki's (all vintage). However, I have been doing some rather extensive research on my "new" GS850. I have to "L" version, which is the cruiser version (lower seat w/stepped up passenger seat and a rather large 5+ gallon fuel tank). The "S" version having a smaller capacity tank and a flat/higher "bench" seat.
Click to expand...
Actually, the L (cruiser) has a small gas tank (3.4 gal). The G version has the larger 5 gal. tank with the flat "bench" seat. My L gets approx 110 miles on a tankful of gas , and then I put 2.9 gallons in it.
 
Grandpa said:
Exactly right -- substantially more antisocially loud!
Click to expand...

LOL. You got that right.

I asked a Harley dealer, where I picked my gloves up from, how you made a Harley quieter? LOL. Needless to say, the answer surprised me. He said,"They start out very quiet, just people want them louder."

Personally, I want a quiet bike. I don't like all that mind numbing noise. But, that's just my opinion. ;)
 
The sound of a stock Harley tourer is so mellow, subdued, and pleasant. The group I ride with has two HD riders, Road King and ElectraGlide, each with stock pipes. Gorgeous sound, socially quite acceptable.

By the way, these two guys ride briskly on our country roads. Neither has any problem keeping up with anyone else.

The HD stereotype of slow and loud bikes applies to people, not machine.
 
Yeah, almost every Harley comes with pretty mild pipes. Everyone puts the loud aftermarket pipes on them and that's where the stereotype comes from. But not all Harley's are loud. But I personally like that loud grumble.

But if hacking off the mufflers is just gonna give me the same "weed-wacker" sound but just louder, then I'll pass. I hate the sound of these bikes! Am I trimming weeds or ridin to the store?
 
If you're into more exhaust noise, Vance & Hines pipes are the gold standard for making a four cylinder bike sound great. They give you a nice growly burble, if that makes any sense.

However, I'm not entirely sure V&H still makes a set that will fit the 850GL. I know Mac does, but they have that tinny raspy sound you hate.

Any aftermarket pipe WILL require rejetting. And for Pete's sake, keep the stock airbox and foam filter if at all possible. Tuning these CV carbs with pods is a PITA.

Personally, I much prefer the way a well-maintained bone-stock GS850 runs and sounds. Quiet and deceptively fast. You don't attract as much attention from the anti-speed forces, either...

I also echo the thoughts of many others here -- please do NOT mutilate a good stock set of GS850 pipes. Either keep them or sell them to someone who can use them. I'm sure there are people here who have a set of head pipes lying around with rusted-out mufflers if you'd like to experiment.

Just to bring this full circle, there are several people who have picked up discarded stock Harley mufflers and used them to rebuild a rusted-out GS system. Just a thought. Maybe you have some in your rafters.
 
I have to inquire, what is the fascination with keeping these bikes bone stock? It's not like they're some kind of rare classic that will be worth lots of money. If it were an old Indian Scout or something I could understand, but it's just an ol Suzuki, nothin special to it.

Also, does anyone know where I can get parts for this thing? The only place I can find is Dennis Kirk and even they don't have a whole lot.

Also, taking off the stock pipes may be my only resort because I just noticed tonight that I have an exhaust leak. I haven't tried to locate it yet but all of the pipes were tightened up 2 weeks ago when I bought the bike, so I'm doubting that it just needs tightened up.
 
DanTheMan said:
Actually, the L (cruiser) has a small gas tank (3.4 gal). The G version has the larger 5 gal. tank with the flat "bench" seat. My L gets approx 110 miles on a tankful of gas , and then I put 2.9 gallons in it.
Click to expand...

Hmm...this must be a model year thing. My "L" is an 82 and definitely has the 5 gallon tank. I can put 3.5 gallons in it with a quarter tank left. ?????
 
An inline 4 is going to sound like an inline 4. Cutting the mufflers off will only result in having a louder weed wacker. What you need to do is chainsaw two cylinders off and rejoin them at a 60 deg angle to get that V twin sound you so love. I think someone already makes one of those things though. Starts with an "H" I believe. Cant remember what it was though.

Earl

Acooljt said:
Anyway, I'm a Harley kind of guy(is that a taboo word on this board?). Well, I can't stand that weed-wacker sound from those mufflers. I was wondering if these bikes sound any good with the mufflers hacked off?
Click to expand...
 
Acooljt said:
I have to inquire, what is the fascination with keeping these bikes bone stock? It's not like they're some kind of rare classic that will be worth lots of money. If it were an old Indian Scout or something I could understand, but it's just an ol Suzuki, nothin special to it.
Click to expand...

The fascination stems from the realization by a good number of GS owners that ours are working motorcycles, functional in nature. We buy them and own them in order to ride them for long distances, and for the long term.

A basically stock GS is an excellent running motorcycle. Most of us don't keep them "bone stock", but slightly modified. Most mods, however, are to enhance good running and ridability. I once had an 850 whose exhaust I replaced with a 4-into-1 Vance and Hines. It was a relatively (for aftermarket) quiet piece, and the bike ran great with it, after a slight main jet mod.

Also, our fascination stems from the desire by a number of motorcyclists to keep a quiet machine, a relatively unobtrusive bike that comes and goes without making an oral statement. The AMA and other motorcycle groups are very conscious these days about motorcycle exhaust noise and the negative effects of loudness.

So, stock bikes, or slightly modified ones, work best in the long run; they're also socially more acceptable. I don't like loud bikes, whether HD's or Japanese 4's.
 
Acooljt said:
but it's just an ol Suzuki, nothin special to it.
Click to expand...

Obviously, you haven't been bitten by the "bug" that is the motivation for this website. That's O.K., you represent the norm. Harley's for some strange reason are what most Americans believe are far superior to everything else. Why that is, is just as confusing to me as why you like Harleys so much.

When it comes to motorcycles, a lot of us just like these old things better than anything else.
 
I have an 850 GL with stock exhaust. The baffles are gone and it has a pretty nice throaty growl now. I'll sell you mine and then pick up the new set I've been eyeing at the local used parts warehouse - brand new set that was taken off a new bike years ago and stored inside.
 
Any suggestions as to what exhaust I should replace it with if I do in fact have to change it? I just found out about it last night after work and really didn't want to fiddle with it that late. So I'm not real sure where the leak is coming from yet. Sounds clips would be nice if possible.
 
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